title: Unusual case of severe cholestasis of pregnancy with early onset, improved by ursodeoxycholic acid administration.
abstract: An exceptional case of early onset and prolonged postpartum course of intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy is described. Contrary to other drugs tested, ursodeoxycholic acid administered after the 29th week of gestation improved pruritus and decreased bile acid levels both in serum and amniotic fluid. Labour was induced at 36 weeks, and a female weighing 2.050 g and with an Apgar score of nine was born. Ursodeoxycholic acid, by decreasing the passage of bile acids to the foetus, may have improved the outcome of the pregnancy.
authors.affiliation: Centro de Patogénese Molecular, Faculdade de Farmácia da Universidade de Lisboa, Portugal.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Brites
authors.forename: C M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Rodrigues
authors.forename: M da C
authors.initials: Mda C
authors.lastname: Cardoso
authors.forename: L M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Graça
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000653:Amniotic Fluid / Q000378:metabolism; D001647:Bile Acids and Salts / Q000097:blood / Q000378:metabolism; D002780:Cholestasis, Intrahepatic / Q000150:complications / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007751:Labor, Induced; D011247:Pregnancy; D011248:Pregnancy Complications / Q000188:drug therapy*; D011256:Pregnancy Outcome; D011537:Pruritus / Q000209:etiology; D014580:Ursodeoxycholic Acid / Q000627:therapeutic use*
chemical_list: D001647:Bile Acids and Salts; D014580:Ursodeoxycholic Acid